The Bears’ offense is going to be fun. They traded for Keenan Allen last month. They drafted Caleb Williams first overall. And now they add Rome Odunze to the equation. Chicago has one of the best WR trios in the league in D.J. Moore, Allen, and Odunze, to go along with new RB1 D’Andre Swift. Let’s dig into the fantasy implications.
ROME ODUNZE
Projection: 61.6 catches on 97.8 targets for 797.0 yards and 4.4 TDs
- Odunze was regarded by most scouts as the WR3 in this class, but his elite overall draft capital demonstrates that says more about the strength of the WR class than his individual talent. Odunze posted three straight seasons with at least a 25% Dominator Rating and broke out as a true sophomore. He spent four years in college, not ideal, but you can’t hold that too much against him considering how productive he was and where he was drafted. He’s been oft-compared to Larry Fitzgerald for his refined game and glue-like hands. Odunze should be an immediate contributor at the NFL level.
- It would be a surprise if Odunze challenges Moore as Williams’ WR1. However, he could overtake Allen as Chicago’s WR2 by the end of the season considering KA turns 32 years old on Saturday. The veteran still averaged 0.3 targets per route run in 2023, a very strong number, but top-10 WRs rarely spend their entire rookie campaign as the third option (although Jaxon Smith-Njigba‘s quiet rookie campaign comes to mind). With Williams at the helm, the Bears should be an above-average NFL offense too, so Odunze may have the best offensive environment of the elite WRs in this class. We have Odunze’s target share well below that of Marvin Harrison and Malik Nabers as a result of his target competition, but he’ll still be involved and could be the most efficient rookie WR.
OTHER BEARS PASS-CATCHERS
- Moore remains the WR1 in Chicago, but he’ll have significantly stronger target competition than last year with Allen and Odunze on board. Still, the QB upgrade and increased passing volume should at least partially offset that. However, the added target competition moves him down in our projections.
- Allen will have Odunze on his heels, at least in terms of his end-of-year role. The Washington product got overall top-10 draft capital and Allen is on the wrong side of 30. He showed no signs of slowing down last year when he was on the field and he should be the primary underneath option for Caleb in Week 1, but Odunze will be hot on his heels for the WR2 gig by midseason. Regardless, all three WRs can contribute, and they all have contingent value if someone else misses time.
- Cole Kmet quietly posted great volume numbers in 2023; this elite WR trio threatens that. He legitimately looked like an improved player last year and averaged 8.0 yards per target, and his TD equity may rise with an improved overall offense, but he could fall to fourth in the target pecking order.
- All other Chicago WRs are irrelevant, just like that.
